The Impact of a Running Injury on Training

A running injury is no fun and can be quite frustrating when starting up a new training program.

Last week was not a good week for running. I only got out once.

After being away on vacation, I thought it would be easier to get back into the groove but that wasn’t the case. I’m still struggling with the motivation needed to start training consistently.

The other problem is my foot injury.

Around the middle of last year, my wife and I signed up to run the PF Chang’s half-marathon in Phoenix over MLK weekend. I had about six months and that would have been enough time to get to a 2 hour half-marathon pace.

But not long after I started running, my foot started to bother me. Eventually, it got so bad that I had to stop running. This has happened a few times and is certainly contributing to the excess weight I’m now carrying.

The Injury

I have pretty bad plantar fasciitis in my heel. It’s aggravated by hallux limitus in my big toe on the same foot. Essentially, the hallux limitus restricts the natural roll onto my big toe when I take a step. The toe doesn’t flex as much and as such, the plantar fascia has tightened up considerably.

When I run, it stretches and gets irritated causing pain in my heel. And to make matters worse, there’s a little bone spur back there as well.

And not only does my heel hurt, but the lack of flexibility in my toe has caused me to modify my gait which has made my opposite hip start hurting.

This has been an issue for a number of years.

The Treatment

At my latest podiatrist visit, the doctor wasn’t eager to perform surgery. The recovery is pretty brutal. Instead, he gave me a cortisone shot, prescribed orthotics, and suggested stretches to help.

I also started using a night splint. While the night splint makes it more difficult to sleep, it does help with the morning plantar fasciitis pain.

I have a hard enough time getting motivated as it is and injuries just compound the situation.

I am ordering new running shoes – mine are broken down. That coupled with orthotics and an emphasis on stretching should improve the situation. My hope is that over the coming weeks, my foot will start to feel a little better and I can continue training.

Readers, have you had to deal with a running injury? I would love to hear more about it.